Just a word now and then about working in a prison and for the Department Of Corrections. Plus a good bit of ranting here and there.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Going Nowhere Fast

Hmm. Not sure if I care for this new format for Blogger or not. It's going to take some getting used to.

But we seem to be stuck with it, so I guess I'll just have to hang.

So anyway. I've been carrying around this fate envelope full of paperwork for several weeks now. A couple of good entries for the guys who had my back when we got in that use of force a couple of weeks ago. And a few entries for my new people that I supervise. Just saying "Hey, I guess I'm your supervisor. Sorry about your luck." That sort of thing.

Every couple of days I run into somebody and I have them sign something and go stick it in their personnel file and make my envelope a bit smaller.

And every couple of days I get an email from the Personnel office saying "Hey, you need to do this and that for this new person as soon as possible." So I print out a few more things and go in search of that person. And until I find them my pile gets bigger.

Tonight I was down to the last few things and I was determined to get rid of as much of it as I could. Ran over to Central and asked Lt Wyatt where my people were. Everybody I had on my list was off that night except for one guy who quit.

"He quit? Really? When?"

"Last week. Left to join the Marines."

"No snit. Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"We're telling you now. You didn't ask before."

"Okey dokey, then." (rip shred tear toss)

Hey, at least I got rid of one piece of paper. That's always nice.

Tomorrow night I'll head out again, envelope in hand, looking for my people again. Like the freaking Headless Horseman or the Lost Dutchman. Doomed to walk the yard for eternity, trying to give file entries on people who will never come to work again... Always walking, papers in hand... The ghostly voice crying out "Where are my people?......"

Damn, that's depressing. **sigh**

So. Saturday is going to be Kindergarten Day, Record Store Day (Do they still have those?), Husband Appreciation Day, Bulldogs Are Beautiful Day and National Chocolate Covered Cashews Day.

I think it's sad how your job can make you feel like a ghost.That prison is so creepy. It's a part of this town, but it isn't. Every day hundreds of us zoom by its ancient fence of rocks & we think how beautiful the entrance is with its many shades of red granite. And how we would love to have kitchen counter-tops like that.It's the prison's other fences -the razor wire ones- hid from our view by majestic estate trees, that we tend to not give much thought to. That prison is a world of its own isn't it? It's only a block from our house, but it's so distant & strange that it might as well be a world made up in the imagination of your favorite author 'Terry Pratchett'. I can see how you could easily feel like a wispy & banished ghost when your walking those grounds every night. Hearing you guys talk, I know it's a huge city of constent transition, but from the outside looking in it also seems to stand still in time. One early foggy morning a few years back, I was sitting outside the control center waiting on my husband. It was still dark out & the fog was so dense that the buildings looked more like a fleet of ghost ships than structures on solid foundations. I was looking straight ahead into the fog when suddenly a row of floating gray ghosts appeared. When my husband came out he explained to me that I was looking at inmates lined up for chow hall. Shrouded in that eery mist they looked exactly like real ghosts & it bothered me deeply. I'll never forget it. I don't envy you guys one bit being square in the middle of a world like that. You are very brave & sane people to not let it get to you.Anyway, I hear that Kansas & North Dakota have become the gold rush for cyperwarfare jobs. You have a brilliant mind & you're an extremely perceptive analyst by nature. Another plus is that you served more than 4 yrs in the military and most likely still have your security clearance (if you had one) since those are for life. Something to think about if you ever need a change. Or not...what do I know. Hang in there! Just 2 more yrs and there will be a job opening for B side yard sgt. with weekends off. If he could retire right now & give it to you he gladly would.

NoisyFrogPond- Sometimes when I stop and really think about it, this is a very strange and often creepy place to work. And it's been here forever and people don't even acknowledge it. I loved the way you described it. You should be writing a book!